


Yearning

by Pixxyofice



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Nonbinary Shirogane Naoto, Other, Post-Canon, and either before or after P4D, and sometimes. the character you make pine for another. is the one you most relate to., either way. wayyy post p4, enjoy a naoto pining for kanji late at night folks, oh yeah forgot to add, sometimes. sometimes you just gotta (makes a character pine), takes place a while after P4G
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:15:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25315186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pixxyofice/pseuds/Pixxyofice
Summary: Please.Naoto begged their brain.Let me sleep.
Relationships: Shirogane Naoto/Tatsumi Kanji
Comments: 13
Kudos: 47





	Yearning

Naoto loved their brain most of the time.

Whenever it came time to work on a case, it was like a part of themselves refused to be pulled away. Their brain would pick apart evidence, race through multiple lines of thought, and Naoto would usually have the case done within a week, if not a day or so. It certainly helped with being regarded as a genius detective.

Naoto's brain also enjoyed working on their little projects. Small trackers, robotic toys that had multiple functions... anything that had to do with building devices and complicated wiring usually got Naoto's attention so focused they would forget to eat. Naoto couldn't really sleep until they knew they would be either finished or at a good stopping point. Most of the time, it was the former.

Naoto loved their brain most of the time.

Right now, though? Naoto felt like they wanted to scream.

It was too early in the morning. Naoto was unable to get a wink of sleep. Through the windows on the estate, Naoto thought they could see the dark night sky starting to lighten up. Their blankets lay at the bottom of their bed, crumpled and tossed aside during Naoto's many attempts at sleeping.

Every time Naoto attempted to have their brain think of something else other than what it was currently focused on, close their eyes and let the sleep that was pulling at the edges of their vision claim them—

_ Kanji's hand lingered on Naoto's shoulder, fingers pressing into the white shirt Naoto had worn that day. His fingers trembled slightly, but when Naoto looked up to his face, no sign of nervousness was present in his face. _

_ He was smiling, big and wide and beautiful, perfect on his face. _

_ "I always enjoy hangin' with ya, Naoto."— _

Naoto pressed their face into their pillow, muffling the groan that escaped their throat.

Kanji Tatsumi. A tall man with big hands and a big heart. Naoto would like to think of him as their closest friend now.

It just so happened that both their brain and their heart were collaborating to disagree.

_ "You always climb trees?" _

_ "Yes." Naoto placed their feet on the ground, hands uncurling from the branch they used to support their climb down. "Truthfully, it's become a habit. One of the first things my brain turns to whenever I hit a snag in my plans." _

_ "Huh." _

_ Naoto made the mistake of looking at Kanji, with his half black, half blond hair being brushed back in his fingers, looking at the tree with amazement painted over his face. _

_ Their heart skipped a beat in their chest, and they thought— _

"Enough," Naoto mumbled into their pillow for what felt like the hundredth time that night.  _ Please. _ Naoto just wanted to sleep. 

They had school tomorrow. Technically, later today. The amount of sleep they lost trying not to think too much about their crush— _ unusual feelings _ was already going to make them suffer in school. Even just a tiny bit of sleep would be helpful.

Was today the day Rise needed to get notes?

Oh no.

_ Rise poked her pencil into Naoto's cheek, and Naoto felt like they wanted to grab the pencil and toss it out the nearby window. They only gripped tighter on the pencil in their hand, because they liked Rise... most of the time. _

_ "C'mon, it's not so bad to have a crush, is it?" _

_ "I would prefer seeing him as a friend." Naoto said, short and stern, and Rise laughed. _

_ Rise leaned back and lifted the pencil from Naoto's cheek, pressing it into her head. "Well, can't help your emotions, y'know?" _

_ Naoto sighed, trying to look at the paper beneath them. The words seemed to blend together, though, so they instead looked out the window, pressing their pencil against the paper to do something with their hands. "It's clouding my interactions with him. He regards me so highly, and I can't help but feel like I'm slipping." _

_ A thought crossed their mind, and they desperately tried to turn away from Rise, but— _

_ "Oooooh, blushing? From Naoto-kun?" Rise cooed, leaning across the table again to see Naoto's face in detail. "You've got it bad!" _

_ "You're mistaken." Naoto snapped, dropping their pencil on the table and heading for the door. _

Naoto would prefer Rise not getting any more hints this was tearing them up inside. Rise was already eagle-eyed enough to notice Naoto's nervous quirks, but if Rise got wind of the fact that Naoto was doing this? Staying up and trying to smother the thoughts of Kanji for hours?

Naoto would never hear the end of it.

_ Please.  _ Naoto begged their brain. _ Let me sleep. _

_ Kanji lifted them from the chair, and the yelp that tore from their throat was undignified. "Kanji-kun, what're you—?!" _

_ "I'm just tryin' t' make sure ya rest your brain sometime!" Kanji said, and Naoto really hoped he wasn't looking at their face. Their face felt like it was burning, and they were sure it was red. Kanji shifted Naoto in his arms, the grin on his face widening. "If ya crash n' burn, that won't help anyone!" _

_ Red brushed his cheeks, as well. _

Naoto pressed the pillow tighter against their face, muffling any sounds that dared to escape. Of course not.

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you all enjoyed!!! i sure did! tell me what u think! i love getting comments on what people liked and their favorite parts so 👀 if you have thoughts.... Tell 👀


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